Indigenous Peoples represent remarkable diversity – more than 5,000 distinct groups in some 90 countries, making up more than 5 per cent of the world’s population, some 370 million people. These peoples continue to self-identify as distinct peoples with strong links to traditional territories with their own social, economic and political systems as well as unique languages, cultures and beliefs.

The World Conference on Indigneous Peoples is taking place September 22-23 at the UN in New York. Here is a list of the events happening around the conference.

19^th September:

11:00 am - 4:00 pm:

Indigenous Peoples’ Solidarity and Engagement with the UN WCIP

By Madeline McGill

September 22, 2014 marked an important day for Indigenous communities everywhere. It was the first of a two-day gathering of the General Assembly at the United Nations in NYC, the first-ever World Conference of Indigenous Peoples.

Throughout the day, over 1,000 Indigenous delegates gathered with Government and UN officials, national human rights institutions, and various heads of state to discuss the best methods to approach and solve issues pressing Indigenous Peoples.

24 September 2014
PUBLIC STATEMENT

Close to 400,000 people turned out in New York City on Sunday, September 21, 2014, for the People’s Climate March, the largest environmental protest in history. Far exceeding expectations, the streets of Manhattan were filled with Indigenous Peoples, environmentalists, politicians, musicians, students, farmers, celebrities, nurses and labor activists united in their demand for urgent action on climate change.

By Madeline McGill

The World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) ended September 23^rd, concluding a two-day United Nations summit dedicated to the discussion of issues concerning Indigenous People on a global scale.

The final day of the conference included a roundtable and panel discussion on Indigenous peoples lands, territories and resources; followed by a closing planetary meeting consisting of summaries by roundtable and panel Chairs.

On Sunday, September 28, 2014 Cultural Survival staff member and founder of community radio Ixchel Stereo, Anselmo Xunic, presented as a panelist in the weekend-long “Third National Meeting of Journalists” in Guatemala City. Over the course of the weekend there were approximately 100 participants representing local, national, commercial, and independent media organizations, such as the Center for Informative Reports on Guatemala, 21^st Century, Vea Canal, Rajo Punto, and United Radio Stations, among many others.

By Guatemalan Human Rights Commission (GHRC)

By Alex Glomset

Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous rights have always been a contentious issue in many parts of Latin and South America including Venezuela, and though progress has made on several fronts, there are still concerns that equal rights are not being given to these groups.  In the September 2014 review of Venezuela by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, several of these issues surrounding Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous children’s rights were addressed.

Since 2002, Venezuela broke with the traditional celebrations on October 12 of Columbus’s so-called “discovery” and began celebrating instead “Indigenous Resistance Day” as homage to the country’s indigenous populations, their history, cultures, and struggles to maintain their identity.

Cultural Survival Quarterly contributing arts editor Phoebe Farris recently spoke with Tony Castanha, author of  The Myth of Indigenous Caribbean Extinction: Continuity And Reclamation in Boriken (Puerto Rico) [Palgrave Macmillian, a division of St.Martin’s Press, New York, NY, 2011] about his recent work.